Page 3 of Bliss: Part 1
He didn’t look up. “I’m working, Lissy.”
“I know.” I pursed my lips, tilting my head to the side. “But, like, what are you doing. Specifically.”
He finally glanced up at me, smirking faintly. His hands were covered in grease, and there was a smudge on his cheek he had no intention of cleaning before he got home.
“Rear tire’s off balance. I’m trying to realign it without having to pull the whole damn thing apart,” he said, and then turned back to his task.
I smiled, watching his hands move with careful precision. “You always make it look easy.”
“It’s not,” he replied simply. “You just think it is because I don’t complain. Unlike someone else.”
That was a dig at Rhys who often muttered and cursed when things didn’t go his way. Rhys was a perfectionist.
“I heard that,” he grumbled from a few feet away.
I smiled to myself. All of them were so different, yet so similar.
Tripp was quiet and focused. The kind of guy who never wasted words and always knew exactly what he was doing. He could be intimidating to most people, but not to me. I’d grown up with his calm silence and learned how to read him like a book.
And at this very moment, he wanted me to leave him alone.
So I did.
I walked over to Rhys who was the most stubborn out of us three siblings. He also always had a lot to say, and he never once held back words. He was direct and intense. Sometimes even a bit crazy and wild.
He tightened a bolt, then gave me his full attention. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just needed a break. My butt’s numb from sitting.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You want something to do?”
“Not really,” I said with a teasing grin.
He shook his head but didn’t argue. “You just came here to annoy us then?”
I gasped. “I came here for a brother-sister bonding moment, actually. How dare you?”
That earned me a laugh. “Fine,” he said. “You can hand me that wrench over there. The long one.”
I grabbed it and handed it to him without hesitation, but that was all the help he would get from me.
“Thanks.” He gave me a small nod, then went back to work.
“All right,” I said with a happy sigh. “Keep getting your hands dirty, boys, while I sit in the AC and look pretty.”
Everyone chuckled, and I grinned at their reaction. They loved me. Small moments like these proved it. And I loved them.
The bond we had was special. Way different than any other family. And I didn’t expect anyone to understand it.
“Fair enough,” Odin said, looking over at me. “Did you hear anything from Davis about his bike? He said he’ll send an email once he’s back in town.”
I shook my head. “Nope, no email from him. Do you want me to send him a quick message to check in?”
He thought about it for a while, then nodded. “Yeah. Ask him how much longer we’ll have to keep his bike in our garage because we need the space.”
“Okay. Anything else?” I asked, looking around.
They shook their heads, and I went to the front desk, ready to dive right back into work.
